VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard has been struggling in his return from the concussions that caused him to miss 45 games last season. And after 12 games of the 2012-13 season, Bouchard found himself inactive for a different reason Tuesday, Feb. 12.

The forward was a healthy scratch, sitting out the Wild’s first game in Vancouver since an elbow to the head ended his season Jan. 4, 2012.

That hit sent the 28-year-old on a winding road of specialists and setbacks that kept him out of action for more than 12 months, until he was cleared to return for the Wild’s lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.

But Bouchard still hasn’t looked like the playmaker the Wild have come to expect, posting only three points in 11 games and struggling to jump-start the Wild’s power play while playing the point on the team’s first unit.

“I don’t like to make those decisions,” coach Mike Yeo said. “I don’t think his game is where it’s going to be. He’s not playing at the level he normally can. In fairness to Butch, he’s missed an awful lot of time. This is not something we want to sit here and make a habit of. This is one game right now, but we’re still trying to get his game going.”

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